Oh, Brother
by KellieKat
Summary: Penelope is in for a huge surprise when she meets the newest member of the BAU!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a new story inspired by the announcement of Adam Rodriguez as the newest CM cast member and a conversation I had recently with my sister. I'm thinking there will probably be about three chapters for this one. All grammar/spelling mistakes are mine; Criminal Minds is not. Enjoy! :-)**

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"Hey Spencer," Garcia greeted the younger agent, tugging on the hem of her cardigan nervously as she joined him on the elevator.

The unusually subdued volume and enthusiasm in his friend's voice would ordinarily have prompted Dr. Reid to inquire about the source of Penelope's discontentment, but not today. Instead, he just gave a tiny wave and halfhearted smile as he leaned forward to press the appropriate button. The ride up to the BAU was silent as Penelope and Spencer were lost in their own thoughts, both of their minds wandering to the meeting they'd been dreading for weeks now.

" _Cruz has given me four weeks to select a new member of the team,"_ Hotch had informed them a month ago. " _I know none of us want to have to replace Morgan-"_ Penelope had cringed at the very idea that _anyone_ could _ever_ fill the Derek-shaped hole in the team - " _but Director Cruz has been very patient up until now and he's right; we're undermanned with only five agents in the field."_ The Unit Chief had been less than thrilled about having to hire a new agent, but it had to be done, and the team had watched quietly as Hotch and Rossi performed interview after interview after interview. The fateful day had finally arrived, and so as the elevator dinged open, Penelope and Spencer were practically dragging their feet towards the bullpen.

"Morning, guys," JJ greeted them, looking up from her hushed conversation with Agent Lewis as the pair finally shuffled through the familiar glass door. She handed Reid a mug of coffee and Penelope tried to smile as Tara gave her a warm mug of her favorite herbal tea.

After a few tense moments of beverage-drinking and unhappy procrastination, Tara said softly, "Hotch and Rossi are upstairs with the new agent whenever you guys are ready."

Spencer took a deep, unsteady breath, and JJ squeezed his shoulder reassuringly as they all began to head for the stairs. Lewis offered Garcia a look of genuine concern, but received only a quite obviously fake smile in return as the analyst's heels _click-clacked_ gently across the floor.

Penelope couldn't help wishing that the walk from the bullpen to the conference room was longer, because she hadn't had nearly enough time to mentally prepare herself by the time JJ was murmuring, "Here we go," under her breath and reaching for the door handle.

The former liaison entered the room first, turning on the charm as easily as she always did and giving the tall, unfamiliar man inside a firm handshake. "SSA Jennifer Jareau Lamontagne," introduced herself. "Call me JJ." Though Garcia could hear her friend's voice, it seemed to be a million miles away as her own mind raced. Standing just inside the familiar conference room were Hotch, Rossi, and a man that seemed just a bit too familiar. Surely, it couldn't be - could it?

Tara approached the new team member next, giving him a genuine smile as she introduced herself, and Penelope couldn't help the wave of resentment that washed over her: of course Lewis was happy to meet this man; she barely knew Derek! Garcia regretted the thought almost as soon as it occurred to her, and made a mental note to be extra-nice to Tara today to make up for it.

As Dr. Lewis stepped aside to join JJ at the round table, Spencer stepped up to greet their newest team member, his hands remaining firmly in his pockets. "Dr. Reid," he said coldly, and Penelope's heart ached as she remembered how comfortable Spencer had become with Derek's touch despite his usual aversion to it; how seldom Morgan had ever called him Reid, opting instead for Spencer or Pretty Boy; and even, years ago, Gideon's insistence that Reid be referred to as Dr. Reid rather than Agent.

With all the memories and chaos running through her head, Penelope had all but forgotten that flash of familiarity she'd felt by the time it was her turn to meet the new agent. Her mind was still elsewhere as she reached to shake his hand, bracelets jangling, and began to introduce herself.

"Technical Analyst Penelope Ga-" Penelope's voice caught in her throat as she finally looked up and met the man's eyes for the first time, only to realize that it was, in fact, _not_ the first time she'd seen these eyes. The olive-skinned, brown-eyed, square-jawed agent in front of her was not a stranger, but he was someone she'd certainly never expected to see again, least of all here, in Quantico, joining her team.

"Garcia," he said quietly, his voice just as smooth as she remembered it as those familiar eyes widened in surprise. "Penelope Layne Garcia."

"You two know each other?" Rossi asked, surprised.

Instead of answering his question, Penelope turned to Hotch and breathed out, "You guys didn't check his family history?"

"We assumed the name was a coincidence," Aaron said, his voice softening in surprise and realization.

"Penelope," JJ spoke up from the table behind her, "Are you guys related?"

Without turning around, as if she feared the man before her would disappear if she did, Penelope said quietly, "Michael is my step-brother. I haven't seen him in twenty-five years."

After another moment of shock, everyone in the room afraid to breath as they watched Garcia's reaction, she seemed to snap out of her initial stunned haze. "Well, welcome to the team, Agent Garcia," she said sharply, "I'm sure you'll be a great asset." With that, she turned quickly and hurried to the empty seat beside Spencer, looking towards Hotch and Rossi expectantly.

"Uh, Agent Garcia is joining us from the FBI field office in Los Angeles," Hotch finally explained.

"Long way from home," Dr. Lewis observed. "You have a family?"

"A wife and three daughters," Michael answered with a smile. Penelope's mind raced as she imagined this family, _her_ family, that she'd never met. She wondered if her sister-in-law and nieces would want to meet her, only to suddenly realize that they might not even know she existed. Still, she did her best to keep a straight face and listen as objectively as she could while Rossi outlined her brother's experience and what he would bring to the team.

When the meeting finally ended an eternity and a half later, Penelope was determined to get to her office as quickly as possible, slam the door behind her, and ignore everyone for the rest of the day - or forever, if possible. Unfortunately, however, Hotch had different plans. "Michael, Penelope, stay," he said firmly, not allowing room for argument. She could practically feel the rest of the team's eyes on her as they headed for the bullpen, and tried not to think about the fact that Spencer and JJ would probably be whispering about her in JJ's office for the rest of the day under the guise of doing paperwork together - heck, if it'd been Reid's brother, that's what she and JJ would have been doing!

"You two obviously have a lot of catching up to do," Hotch began, snapping her attention back to the situation at hand. Penelope snorted. After the way Michael and his brothers had treated her, she doubted he cared one bit about _catching up_.

"I want you two to get out of the office today," he continued. "Talk about whatever needs to be talked about and figure out if you guys can work together. I don't want to see either of you back here today. The three of us will meet with Agent Cruz in the morning to discuss what needs to happen going forward." With that, he left the room, and Penelope found herself alone with Michael for the first time since she was eighteen years old.

"Penn-" he tried to say, but she cut him off, saying harshly, "Where do you want to go talk?"

"This isn't really a conversation we need to have in public-" _(Or at all,_ Penelope thought bitterly,) "And my wife and kids are at home. Could we go to your place?" Michael suggested.

 _No!_ She wanted to scream. _If you don't want to be in my life, you don't get to be in my apartment!_ She almost told him as much, but the angry, spiteful side of her couldn't silence the lonely, family-sized piece of her heart that had been empty and painful for so long and wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around the man that had once been her favorite older brother.

"Fine," she finally snapped, turning her back on him as she headed for the door. "You can follow me there."


	2. Chapter 2

In the highly esteemed opinion of FBI Analyst and Technical Goddess Penelope Garcia, it was considered patently unfair to feel quite this uncomfortable in one's own home. As she fiddled with a long curl that had escaped her bun, she recalled the nervousness and uncertainty she'd felt the first time Derek had seen her apartment. He'd come over to keep her company a few days after she'd been shot, and it was the first time anyone from the BAU had been to her home, and she'd been terrified - and she suddenly realized that the rollercoaster of emotions she was feeling now was much, much worse.

"Ready to chat?" Michael's upbeat voice carried across the small apartment as he exited her bathroom, his tone etched with what Penelope found to be a rather inappropriate amount of nonchalance. Even his word choice dripped with carelessness: reuniting with one's step-brother after twenty-plus years of noncontact struck Penelope as a conversation that warranted a stronger description than "chat".

"Fine," she growled through her teeth, growing increasingly irritated as her brother - _step-brother_ , she thought resentfully - made himself right at home in her favorite chair so that they were face-to-face across the coffee table. "You wanna chat? Let's _chat_."

Michael opened his mouth and made as if to say something, but Penelope didn't give him the chance. "Let's _chat_ about how you and your brothers thought that the best thing to do for your hurting, grieving, eighteen year-old step-sister was to tell her that you hated her, and that it was her fault her parents were dead. Let's _chat_ about how you let me walk out of the house that night after the funeral without even trying to go after me. Let's _chat_ about how you changed your phone number and moved out of the house just to avoid me. Let's _chat_ about how you weren't there for me when I went underground, hacked into government databases, and intentionally got myself _arrested_ to get away from my emotionally manipulative boyfriend. Let's _chat_ about how I insisted that the FBI let me keep the same phone number I've had for the past 25 years, just in case one of my brothers decided I was worth speaking to again. Let's _chat_ about how I got shot and had to say to the nurses, " _I don't have any family. Could you please call my boss?"_ Let's _chat_ about how you got married and had kids and didn't think I'd care, or didn't think I deserved to know. Let's _chat_ about how my best friend, the man with whom I've been desperately in love for the majority of my adult life, just got married, had a baby, and left the team. Let's _chat_ about how he hasn't called me in over a month, and I showed up at work today to meet his replacement, and lo and behold, it's my _long-lost brother!_ And wow! He wants to come to my apartment! And _chat!_ You wanna _chat_ , Michael? You go right ahead."

Angry tears were streaming down Penelope's face as she spat out the last few words, so she jerked her glasses off her face, snatched up a box of tissues from the table in front of her, and began rubbing the tears and running makeup off of her face with excessive force.

"I- I don't know what to say, Penny Layne," Michael whispered, tears of remorse and shame pricking the backs of his own eyes. "There's no excuse for the way we treated you back then."

"Damn straight," she snapped. "And my name is Penelope. No one's called me Penny Layne in 25 years."

After another long moment in which the only sound to be heard was Penelope's loud sniffling, Michael ventured to ask the first question that came to mind: "You got shot?"

Penelope slid her glasses back onto her face with a short, humorless laugh. "Sure did," she said with sarcastic bravado. "On the steps of this very building, in fact! One of the worst first dates I've ever had."

Michael sighed and slid to the very edge of his chair, hands folded, staring at the ground. "Penny- Penelope - about that night," he began, but his sister quickly cut him off again.

"I overreacted just now, Michael," she said sadly. "I haven't had anyone to vent to about what happened that night, so you got hit with two and a half decades of emotional garbage, and that's not fair to you."

"No, no, no," he interjected quickly, eyes wide. Michael was absolutely shocked; her apology made it clear that even after all these years and after all she'd been through - after all she'd been through _alone_ \- his baby sister was still just as kind and positive-natured as he remembered her to be. She never ceased to amaze him. "Penelope, what happened to Dad and Jane-" his voice broke for a moment as he tried to handle the emotional weight of both the moment at hand and the one that had caused so much pain so long ago - "It wasn't your fault. It was just an accident, and we should never, ever have blamed you."

"I know," Penelope assured him with a fast nod. She wiped away a few stray and patted the couch beside her in invitation as she continued, saying, "I came to terms long ago with the fact that their death was not my fault, just like everything that's happened to me since then isn't your fault. You guys let me run away that night, and it's _okay_. I'm happy here, I swear I am. Maybe it's God's will, maybe it's fate, I don't really know, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason." As Michael sat down beside her, she turned over her shoulder and looked him in the eyes as she added softly, "Even this. Even meeting you again, Michael Scott Garcia."

Unable to resist the urge any longer, Michael wrapped his arms tightly around his little sister and held her against his chest like his life depended on it. "I'm so sorry for abandoning you, hermanita," he whispered.

As the familiar Spanish nickname rolled of his lips, Penelope's heart was overcome with memories and emotions. One thing she'd learned about herself over the years, though, was that she had a terrible tendency to try to deal with everything she was feeling all at once, and it usually ended in disaster. So instead, she chose not to say a thing, and just turned towards Michael and did something she'd never imagined she'd do again: she hugged her brother.

The beautiful moment, however, unfortunately did what all beautiful moments must eventually do: it came to an end. As brother and sister each resettled into their respective seats on the couch, Penelope was caught slightly off-guard when Michael took a deep, falsely casual breath and said, "So tell me about this 'best friend' of yours."

 _Oh, crap._


End file.
